In the overcrowded city, nature is getting out of control. The mice are scratching between walls, the pigeons are diseased and the foxes are beginning to rule the streets. The problem is growing. It's contagious. It has to be stopped, before it's too late.

Stef Smith's play Human Animals premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in May 2016, in a production directed by Hamish Pirie.



Stef Smith is a playwright whose work includes: Human Animals (Royal Court Theatre, London, 2016); Swallow (Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, 2015); Remote (NT Connections 2015); And The Beat Goes On (Random Accomplice/Horsecross); Cured (The Arches, Glasgow); Woman of the Year (Òran Mór); Grey Matter (Lemon Tree, Aberdeen); Falling/Flying (Tron, Glasgow); Roadkill (Edinburgh Festival Fringe, 2010 & 2011).

Awards include: Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre, Critics Award for Theatre in Scotland for Best New Production, Amnesty International Expression of Freedom Award, Herald Angel Award, Total Theatre Award for Innovation, The Scotsman Fringe First Award (Roadkill); Scottish Arts Club Theatre Award for Drama, The Scotsman Fringe First Award (Swallow).

She has been awarded the New Playwright Award by Playwrights Studio, Scotland. Stef was a member of the Royal Court National Writers Group in 2013. She is an Associate Artist at the Traverse Theatre.



'Impressive… a chilling vision of dystopian London'



'[A] superbly written, wildly imaginative and thought-provoking play'



'An attractive blend of black humour and genuinely disturbing ideas... vivid and resonant'



'A dark, surrealist parable with shades of JG Ballard'



'The disturbing and the dotty, queasiness and quirkiness mingle arrestingly… an impressive Royal Court debut'